Consider asking yourself a simple question as you encounter the multitude of “key moments” throughout your day … How will you feel about this when today is over? I practice — admittedly not consistently — a process at the end of each called the Daily Examen. The Daily Examen is a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s presence and discern his direction for us.
Knowing that I will examine my day at the end of it, I am able to approach decisions and choices throughout the day considering how I will feel about them later.
- It’s a hot day, a caramel cashew crunch yogurt sundae from Twisters sounds really good! Yet, at the end of the day I will feel better about myself if I skipped that treat.
- I’m busy, I don’t feel I have time to make follow-up phone calls and I want to work on “other stuff.” However, at the end of the day I will regret not making those calls.
- I don’t want to get out of bed — I’m tired. I think I will skip my morning prayer time and working out. Hold it … I will regret not spending time with God and not exercising my body if I don’t do it.
This practice of asking that key question will keep you on track and enable you to live your day with few regrets. Do those things and make those choices that you say to yourself, “I won’t regret this later” and then see if you were right when you go back and refect on your day. Learn from your experience and continually unfetter based on the choices you make.
So what? Now what! What are you going to do?! At the end of today, will you be pleased with that action?
If your knees aren’t green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.
~ Bill Watterson
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